Make Online Marketplaces Accountable for Fake Sellers and Fraudulent Orders

Online shopping has become part of everyday life. People buy medicines, electronics, clothes, household items and essential products through websites and mobile apps because it is convenient and often affordable.

But when something goes wrong, the experience can quickly become frustrating and expensive. A consumer may pay for a product that never arrives.

Someone may receive a completely different item from what was advertised. A fake seller may disappear after taking payment. A refund may remain pending for weeks while the customer is repeatedly asked to wait.

In some cases, people are sent counterfeit or damaged goods and then struggle to prove that the problem was not caused by them.

Consumers should not have to fight endlessly to recover money they paid in good faith.

Online marketplaces benefit from bringing buyers and sellers together. With that role comes a responsibility to ensure that sellers are properly verified, complaints are handled seriously and fraudulent activity is acted upon quickly.

We are asking the concerned consumer protection authorities to strengthen accountability for e-commerce platforms operating in Maharashtra.

Online marketplaces should have effective seller-verification systems and should act quickly when multiple complaints are made against the same seller.

Consumers should be able to clearly report fraud, counterfeit products, misleading listings, non-delivery and wrongful refusal of refunds.

Complaint systems should provide a reference number, clear status updates and a reasonable timeline for resolution.

Where a seller is found to be repeatedly engaging in fraudulent activity, the platform should take prompt action to suspend or remove that seller rather than allowing more consumers to be affected.

Refunds should not be delayed unnecessarily when a legitimate complaint has been established.

Consumers should also be clearly informed about whom they can approach when the platform itself fails to resolve the matter.

This petition is not asking online businesses to guarantee that every transaction will be perfect.

It is asking them to take responsibility when their systems are used to cheat customers.

A consumer should not have to feel helpless simply because the seller exists only behind a screen.

Convenience should never come at the cost of consumer protection.

Please sign this petition and support stronger accountability for fake sellers and fraudulent transactions on online marketplaces.